On Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin that the 26 missiles their four ships had fired all hit their targets, missing all civilian areas. Officials quoted by state media said there would be no ground operation in Syria and – in contrast to what officials had said earlier – Russian Federation would try to prevent any “volunteers” from going to Syria.
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It was unclear whether the missiles caused any damage, they said.
A Russian navy ship launches cruise missiles in the Caspian Sea.
“In contrast to CNN, we do not talk with reference to anonymous sources”, the Russian Defence Ministry said.
Kirby wouldn’t discuss reports of Russian cruise missiles landing in Iran, but said such evidence would only reinforce the need for the US, Russia and others to “deconflict” their various military efforts in Syria.
Wednesday’s bombardment was the first naval salvo of Russia’s week-old military intervention in Syria, where it has already launched more than 100 airstrikes against the Islamic State and factions of Islamist and U.S.-backed rebel forces opposed to Assad.
Syrian army General Ali Ayoub said Russian jets were supporting troops fighting terrorists in Hama and Idlib provinces.
A meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation defence ministers in Brussels agreed to double the size of the alliance’s response force and station troops in the Baltic states.
“According to the military information we received, Russian Federation has carried out 57 air operations: 55 against [the] moderate opposition and just two against Daesh”.
Russia’s proposal, however, was rejected, said Ryabkov.
“This is particularly relevant in the view of the recent violations of NATO’s airspace by Russian aircraft…”
The heavy fighting appeared to be concentrated in the rural areas of Idlib, Hama and Latakia provinces, where the Army of Conquest, a coalition of rebel groups that includes the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, operates, the Associated Press reported.
But conservative Iranian media described the reports of missiles landing in Iran as “psychological operations by the United States against Moscow”.
Russian movements are believed to be part of Russia’s plan to form a “protective belt” around Latakia, the stronghold of the Syrian President Bashar Assad, and carries airstrikes against anti-Assad rebel forces. On Thursday, it reiterated that all the rockets hit their targets. “We have taken action to maintain safe separation”, David shared. In another incident, Turkish military officials said that eight F-16 fighters were harassed by unidentified MIG-29 aircraft during a patrol flight on the border with Syria this week.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Moscow has insisted it is striking facilities of the Islamic State militant group, but that so far this hasn’t matched up with the targets Russian Federation is blasting from the air.
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As for the sensational reports about the Russian cruise missiles hitting Islamic State targets, this seems to be a lie too. After all, Israel is the strongest army and the biggest force, at least in the Middle East. And it’s a problem to pull it into the conflict.
